Death's Illusions
by sleep-silent
Summary: "You said you would protect me Ichigo. You said you would keep me safe." I tried to make sense of her words and decipher their meaning, but something felt empty, I was left in the dark. "I am protecting you. I will always keep you safe." Above all else, we both knew that was a cold lie.


A/N: my first Bleach one shot.

_Warning: _Please note that this is vivid in the sense of death towards specific character(s), have discretion.

Other than that, please enjoy my one shot!

* * *

I remember it far too vividly.

The same sound of piercing skin—just as when my blade glides so smoothly along my victim, before subduing them with a final strike that penetrates completely through them. These very tactics were used against an innocent life—an innocent life in which I found I could not protect.

Before my eyes laid a body empty of hate and vexation, yet also rid of life and everything else that composes a human.

Maybe if my face wasn't cooled with the sensation of blood then my spite wouldn't have controlled me like it did.

If I could have pulled my self together and grasped hold of the situation then perhaps blood would not have been shed.

If only I hadn't lost my self to my conscious, then the last thing Orihime could have seen was my gentle side; not the opposite of that... The part of me that frightened her like her brother did.

Her outstretched arms reached for me, her tears touched her lips that were tightly pressed together. I started towards her despite my battle wounds, kicking up the sunbathed sand behind me, I dropped my sword and stretched my arm out as if I was going to touch the horizon. Our fingers brushed each others and Orihime finally felt like she was free—she even smiled at me. Then there was a force that tore her from me and stole the smile off her face, it took the only shred of hope she thought she had.

Within an instant my sword was confiscated from the ground and used against Inoue by stabbing through her back. The point of the blade was set on me—gawking at _me _while it held Orihime's weight up.

_Zangetsu..._

She depended on me; maybe it was her mistake for counting on me—or it was mine for not keeping my promise.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Blood, blood and more blood. No matter how much I have witnessed with these eyes before, nothing would ever be the same as seeing someone close to me bleed so much. Her arms still reached for me faintly, even though she could barley hold them up, her arms still tried to touch me even after I let her down. Orihime's eyes dimmed and her head began to droop. Her skin was covered with her own blood, it even dripped from her mouth.

My blade made a quick move out of her, a sharp gulp escaped Inoue's lips before her body fell limp on the ground. The sand splashed her face and mixed with even more crimson.

I quickly found I could not move. I merely watched as the life poured out of Orihime by the hands of my Zanpakuto. Her eyes went blank and looked as if they stared into nothing.

Her white dress became plastered with red, along with her hands and the tips of her hair.

xXx

I woke up violently on a sunny day. My body thrashed up, I gasped harshly. There was sweat covering my back and it made my shirt stick to me. I grunted in disgust.

"Another crappy dream," I thought. "Inoue..." My eyes began to sting with tears, I reminded my self it was a dream—despite it's intense vividness.

I glanced at the clock, 12 pm.

"Damn," It was sure late, the day was passing me by. "Rukia." I looked at the closed closet door, no answer; so I whipped my blanket off and slid the door open only to find a neat stack of sleeping material in her place. She must have decided to make today more productive than I.

Yelling beyond my bedroom I called my sisters' name's. Another silent response.

"Jeez where did everyone go? They all left without telling me."

I tried my best to act like I wasn't slightly offended from being left in the dark—but then again, I was alone so no one could see how I felt. I then continued on to change my clothes and head down stairs. A slight ache in my chest became prominent enough for my attention; I touched my fingers to my heart and felt where the pain was present. How ironic, heart pain.

I breathed but found it wasn't enough to cure the sensation. "Maybe some fresh air." So I began towards my front door and breathed in the warmth upon reaching the outer air. Using my right hand I shielded the sun from my eyes and looked up towards the clouds. What a charming day. I took to the side walk and continued to stare into the sky. I noticed how the sky was the same as the one in my dream—

A sharp yelp was all I heard before tumbling to the ground. I mindlessly bumped into a girl.

"Ow!" Her bittersweet, orange tinted hair brushed against my face.

"Oh, Inoue! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Her legs were tangled with mine, I noticed that she was being pinned down. I stood before her and offered a helping hand.

"Kurosaki! I'm fine, tough as nails." She brushed her hands together, back and fourth making a clapping noise. I watched as she ran her digits through her vast hair so effortlessly. Her hands were pure like porcelain—_not a speck of blood. _

"Ichigo..." Hearing her say my first name caught me with surprise. "It sure has been a while." Why hasn't she looked up at me yet? She just stared at her feet and let her hair cascade her face.

"What do you mean?" She stood maybe a foot away from me; I could feel her warmth radiate off of her, and could smell her sweetness. I breathed in through my nose.

"Well what I meant was—I mean I think—er," Her head bounced from side to side, she struggled to find her words. "It's quiet, Kurosaki." This time she looked up at me, she captivated me with her words. I though about her reason.

"Today's finally a normal day, I get it." I smiled at her.

It hadn't dawned on me until she said something about it—all the fighting in Hueco Mundo seemed like an eternity, it had been so long since a quiet day had become present. I remembered my gratefulness, I'm sure Orihime remembered too.

"Hey, Inoue..." I touched my hand to the back of my head and pondered. "Why are you in this area?"

Her face flushed before she could answer me. "I was going to your—house." Her gaze averted me once again.

"Oh?"

"I wanted to show you something."

xXx

Rukia awoke in her usual spot, curled up under the blankets—in a dark blissful room.

She checked her phone for the date, just another hot Summer day—no, it was more than that. Today was _the _day.

"_**Ichigo!**_" She was too late, he was gone.

xXx

"Why are we at school?" Orihime trailed me along with my hand in her grip. She laughed a little from time to time, every time I heard her I wanted to smile back.

"It's been an eternity," She looked up towards the empty building, Inoue kept walking towards it, right into the front doors.

"It's unlocked?"

I remembered everything so clearly, Instinctively I almost began to remove my shoes. Orihime's grasp released and she skipped up the stairs. "Hey, wait!" I reached out to her and tried to close my footing in close to Inoue.

_How long has it been? A week?_

"Inoue, why are we at school?" We trailed the hallway hip to hip, my hands were jammed in my pockets.

"I just wanted to see something..." Her words seemed detached, like she was only partially listening to me.

She walked ahead of me and into our classroom.

The room was bright thanks to the sun. Everything was tinted orange from the light, I squinted from it's intensity. Orihime walked along each row of desks, feeling the surface of each of them with her fingertips. Her face was nostalgic—more so with each desk she touched, or rather, the closer she got to her own.

"Inoue, what's the meaning of all this?" She was reluctant to answer any of my questions so far. I was so confused, as to why this school was so sentimental to her. We come here every day.

"It's just been so long," I sighed to myself, her stubbornness picked away at me.

I studied her movements and tried to read her expression, perhaps I could have figured out her intentions in all this. Orihime continued to walk past her own desk, trashing my predictions. Her face continued to grow more blissful.

"I've always wanted to do this!"

"Inoue—" I tried to control it, but I blushed and had to look away as she sat on top of my desk.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," She whispered to her self, I looked up at her but her back was to me. "One more place."

xXx

Rukia ran as fast as her legs would let her. She sprinted towards Ichigo's Spiritual pressure with everything she had. She fumbled for her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time and dialed Ichigo's number again, she listened as it went to voice mail—her eyes hardened.

"Where are you now, Ichigo?"

xXx

The scent of grass filled my senses, so I let it rush through me with ease. I was feeling bliss just as Orihime was before at school. She stood before me, her hand was encased by her hair as she held it all back, taming it from the breeze.

_No it had to have been longer than a week, maybe... a month?_

"Inoue... please tell me why—"

"Do you remember this place?" Her face looked at me, then turned towards something else. A tree? After all, it was the only tree left in the series of hills that laid before us. Vibrant in green, it shook violently in result of the wind. The leaves detached themselves and fell gracefully to the dense grass.

Her eyes dimmed, yet kept their sense of graciousness. "This is the place you promised me..." Her voice became small, drowned out by tears.

"Do you remember that promise, Kurosaki?" _Of course._

"I promised you that I would protect you... and keep you safe forever."

Inoue turned her footing towards me and came at me with open arms. The breeze filled the gap between us—chills ran down me as Orihime's breathing became dynamic. Her face flushed.

_No, it's been years... But how many? _

"Kurosaki I—" I didn't let her finish, I _couldn't _let her finish.

_That pain... _My chest began to thump, I could feel it in my throat. Agony overwhelmed my heart _but why?_

_How many years has it been?... 6?_

The wind stopped just as I grabbed Inoue's figure and held her as tight as I could. I enveloped her with my warmth in hope that I could shroud euphoria around her.

"_It's been an eternity," "It's just been so long," 6 years is a long time indeed..._

She began to cry into me, she shrieked until her voice faltered from the stress. Inoue's fists pounded into me. I grabbed her harder, she only cried more.

"Inoue..." I pleaded her name until she calmed her self, her arms became still but her fists grasped my shirt and her tears still scaled her face until they fell on me and dampened my shirt.

"I don't want to let go, Kurosaki!" I was taken by her words, my eyes began to sting but I didn't know why. "I don't want to leave!" Her fierce crying picked up and her hands felt around me, and resumed her tight grip on my shirt from the back. I lowered my head into her sweet scent and buried my nose in her hair.

"You don't have to though! I'm right here!" I tried to assure her, but it just wasn't working. I couldn't save her from her tears.

"But how can you? You said you would protect me Ichigo! You said you would keep me safe!" I tried to make sense of her words, I tried my best but something felt empty, I was left in the dark.

"I _am_ protecting you! I will _always_ keep you safe."

_6 years is a long time..._

Inoue let go of me and backed up to see my face. She placed her hand under my eye to wipe my tears, then smoothed her light grasp around my ear; her fingers were doused with my hair.

"Orihime," She grew in tallness, standing on the tips of her toes to subtract the distance between our lips.

The same lips that were pressed together tightly and damp with tears.

"_**Ichigo!**_" _An unfamiliar voice..._

Orihime loosened her self from me until we no longer held each other. She backed up with her fist closed tight near her chest. She said something but her voice was so small I couldn't hear.

Her figure began to fade and become small. I reached out my hand to grasp her whitening body.

"**Ichigo**" A stern voice called me again.

"R-Rukia?" My eyes dawned on her, she was gasping for air, her hair was blown back from the breeze.

"I finally found you," She could barley speak above her need for air.

"Rukia! You have to help, Orihime was here! We have to find her, she couldn't have gone far." I pleaded to her, but she merely watched as I fell to my knees, her face stayed cold and her eyes were hard.

"Ichigo, stop." Why won't she listen to me?

"You have to help, Rukia... please." My tears fell quickly down my face, one after the other. When the wind blew, it gave me a cool sensation on my face.

_Just like before..._

"No!" I resisted the persistent memory.

"Ichigo..." Her tone was caring this time, but her stance remained unmoved.

"Please..." Rukia bent down close to me, she placed both her hands on my shoulders roughly.

"Why aren't you helping me? What about Orihime..." My voice was raspy from yelling, I could hardly speak.

"Because Orihime Inoue is _dead, _Ichigo."

I lost my self somewhere, sometime after hearing those words.

"You do this every year, you block everyone out around you..." I remembered the house being empty.

"No, she was just here," I fell lower on my knees, my hands fell to the ground and my head lowered close to the grass.

_It's been 6 years since then..._

"No one's here." I looked around for Orihime, over all the hills. But she wasn't there.

_For a split second the grass turned to sand... My dream..._

"Look over here, behind this tree..." Rukia pointed at the only tree in sight. I regained my composure and walked around the tree only to find a tombstone with _her _name on it.

**Orihime Inoue**

**[1993-2007]**

"W-What? No, this isn't—"

"6 years ago, in Hueco Mundo, Orihime died." Her words pierced me.

"_**No! **_I couldn't save her! I promised I would keep her safe forever!" Everything was weary, someone's hands rested around me, trying to calm me.

"...But I couldn't."

My memories flooded in violently, despite that I kept then back for so long. The pain, the blood, the numbness. I rejected it, but the memory flashed it's self at me, pounded on me with it's existence until I couldn't handle it.

"Ichigo, get a hold of your self!" My eyes blinked open.

I took in my surroundings, the wind blew past me with all it's might.

A couple of minutes passed before anyone said anything.

"She's really... gone isn't she?" It pained me to say it.

"Yes." Rukia's voice was lighthearted and soothed me.

"I'll never forget her." I became more fierce and regained my state of mind through the mess.

"You won't."

My mind cleared more, I turned my back on the sun and began to walk. My shirt was wrinkled and damp from tears— I looked behind me.

"Orihime..."

* * *

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this, I hope that the people who read it liked it even though it's sad. :(

I'm thinking of adding more oneshots, either like this one or not. What should I do? :D

Please review! Thanks for reading~


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